Young schoolgirl saving for new sneakers targeted by low act
'I was so angry that someone had actually done that — the thought that they'd come onto the property and do a thing like that,' Evie's grandmother told Yahoo.
An Aussie schoolgirl who spent weeks collecting enough empty cans so that she could finally afford a new pair of sneakers has been left heartbroken after discovering that all three bags she'd accumulated were snatched from her front yard.
Evie Gibson, 10, had devoted hours of her time collecting the cans, which she had planned on returning for cash via NSW's Return and Earn scheme, only to be left shattered to learn they had been stolen from her very own home, located in Bradbury, near Campbelltown in Sydney.
Evie's grandmother, Mandy Harrison, said not only was the brazen act extremely heartless, it had also left the family feeling vulnerable, having a person trespass onto their property and steal from them in broad daylight. Ms Harrison said she'd raised Evie since she was just two weeks old and was trying to teach her the value of money before the shocking theft occurred.
Brazen theft rocks Sydney family
"She's been collecting cans — the ones that we have in the household — for a while, and her goal was to save up to get a pair of black Converse shoes that all the young ones are into around her age," Ms Harrison told Yahoo News Australia.
"I went out last Tuesday to do some food shopping, and I came back home and said: 'Oh, what's different?' and looked back to the garage and thought: 'Oh my god they're all gone!'
"We've stored them there near the garage for the last five years, since we've been at this property, and never had a problem storing them there. I also just put out another bag in the morning before I left to go and do the shopping.
"I'm trying to teach my granddaughter that you just don't get something for nothing these days. You actually have to work for it."
Ms Harrison then was faced with the devastating prospect of having to break the news to Evie — whom she describes as "like a daughter" — who had just returned from school. Completely crushed, Ms Harrison said Evie was left bitterly disappointed at having to start her collection again.
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Cruelly, the pair had been due to deposit their haul and collect the cash in just a matter of days.
"I was so angry that someone had actually done that — the thought that they'd come onto the property and do a thing like that," Ms Harrison said.
"I couldn't sleep that night because, actually, it freaked me out that someone had done that. I thought they might come back and try to break in or go into the back garden."
Incensed by the robbery, Ms Harrison said she took to Facebook to try and guilt the intruder into handing themselves in by posting publicly — but no avail.
Community rallies around Evie
She was, however, stunned by the onslaught of responses of support she received from her local community, which she described as "truly overwhelming".
Ms Harrison has now received multiple offers from other locals who have vowed to share their empty cans with the family so that Evie can finally purchase her new shoes.
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